


Turbulent Seas

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: mini-drabbles [29]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alterante Universe, Angst, Caroline!Human, F/M, HEA, Klaus!Mermaid, Klaus!Water Demon, Mythical Beings & Creatures, shipwrecked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 20:15:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14456898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: With her ship going down, Caroline finds an unexpected rescue.





	1. Chapter 1

The ship was falling apart. Shuddering, Caroline clung to the torn away edges of the ship, staring down into the dark, churning waters as lightening flashed. She could hear screams, as frothing waves slammed into what was left of the ship, could almost make out what might have been the remains of the crew. They were so close to shore, for naught.

The storm would take them.

Tears hot in her eyes, she felt every muscle in her body strain as the ship lurched, felt herself slipping. Screaming, she barely had the thought to inhale as she was thrown into the ocean. Her heavy skirts dragged her down, and no matter how she clawed, the surface became a pinprick above her. Her eyes slid shut as her lungs burned, and so she felt more than saw some slide by her.

Hazy eyes snapped open, and she screamed as she saw a face near her own. That was a mistake, water rushing in and in the next instant, cool lips pressed firmly against her own. Her fingers dug into skin, scrambling for purchase, and she barely registers the brush of scales against her skin as the burning in her lungs eased. Hands at her waist, and then a jerk as her downward momentum was suddenly reversed.

They broke the surface and she gasped frantically for air, her body buoyed by the creature that held her easily in the turbulent waters. Lifting her head after several desperate lungfuls of air, she stared at the strikingly handsome face from behind her dripping hair.

One long fingered hand pushed the mess away from her face and he smiled, teeth White against the pale skin if his face. Dark blond hair was braided away from his face, and one ear gleamed in moonlight, what might have been bone dangling in the water. A water demon.

“Well now, aren’t you a pretty little thing.”


	2. Part Two

Her was a mess. Digging out a stray bit of seaweed, she compressed her lips and stared at the man crouched in front of her. His hair was braided away from his face, skin as slick and salt-covered as her own. More importantly, he had legs.

And everything else.

Scowling, and keeping her eyes firmly on his face and not tracing across the lean lines of his body to… not so lean areas. She jabbed one finger into his chest, helpless to not touch him, angry that she couldn’t fight her need.

“I believe we’ve had this discussion. You can’t do this, Klaus. What is everyone going to think?”

His head dipped, finger coming to skim along the line of her jaw, lingering just beneath the curve of her mouth. “That your mine.”

Her chin lingers, hand shifting so her nails dug little half moons into his pectoral. “But I’m not.”

His smile was lazy, the blue of his eyes decidedly less so. For a moment, all she saw was the creature that had pulled her from the water, that had given her air beneath the tossing waves. Her family thought her return a miracle, but Caroline knew it for a bargain. Klaus traced her lips with the pad of his thumb.

“Not yet, love. But soon.”


	3. Part 3

Caroline stared down at the raging river, fingers wound tightly into the ropes that bound her hands. The torch lights held by her family flickered dimly against the growing darkness, and the flames moved strangely against the black water below. The ice had finally broken free three nights ago, spring starting to show in tentative, careful fingers.

It was the day her father had waited for months for. If water had driven her to the devil, then water would cleanse her. Her mother’s pleas had fallen on deaf ears, and Caroline had endured a winter spent prisoner in her own home.

Lifting her gaze, she stared out towards the sea. She could almost hear the waves, could almost smell the salt on the breeze. She hadn’t seen or heard a single sign from Klaus since she’d told him of her intent to honor the promise made on her behalf by her father. The only tears she’d shed had been for the pain she’d caused him.

If only Tyler had believed her explanation, when he’d followed her and saw their interaction. If only he hadn’t gone to her father, calling she had been defiled by a demon. She shivered in her threadbare dress, the cold air sharp against her skin. The stones tied against her back and legs scraped her with each breath.

The miracle of her survival of the shipwreck had so easily become a bargain with Satan himself.

“Confess the name of the demon, so it may be driven from you by the water,” her father demanded one last time. “Confess, so that you may live.”

Stubbornly, she remained silent. Her death at the hands of the river might be payment for the summer and fall she’d shared with Klaus, and it was a payment she’d take. Her mother said nothing, her pleas spent.

“May God have mercy on your soul, my child.”

The impact of hitting the water drove all the breath from her lungs. The cold was a shock, but the sudden impact of hitting debris sent her spinning and she tried to struggle. But the ropes had left her fingers bloodless, and the cold was her enemy as much as the water. The heavy rocks made it impossible to fight to the surface, and her lungs screamed at her. Eyes shut tightly in defeat, she bounced hard against something solid, and everything went mercifully dark.

Caroline didn’t expect to wake. Lashes fluttering, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself floating in the darkness of the ocean. The moon was bright against the water, and the firm flesh beneath her check was warm. Pressed tightly against him, the cold of the water didn’t hurt her.

The stones and ropes were gone.

“Klaus?” Her voice sounded raw against her ears as she broke the silence.

“I hope for your sake your village can hunt for more than fish, love. The ocean will no longer share her bounty with them.”

She shifted in his arms, but not away from him. Her legs curved around his hips, the smooth scales of his tail slippery. Looking up once she’d anchored herself, she pressed a trembling hand against his jaw. “Why did you save me?”

“I’ve told you. You’re mine.”

Caroline stared at him from beneath her sopping hair, body aching. “I rejected you.”

His eyes were gold as he watched her, the ends of his hair tickling her arms beneath the water. She should have been afraid, so far from land and held in the arms of a creature that was not human. Instead, the thumping terror of her pulse had eased, and for the first time in months, she felt safe.

“That does have consequences,” Klaus said, jaw drawn tight. “Unlike when I pulled you from that wreck, you were very close to death. I had to share my magic with you, do you understand? There is a cost for that.”

Strangely calm, she watched him carefully. “What kind of consequences?”

“You will die, if you return to shore.”

She licked her lips, swallowed as his tail moved beneath her to counter a sudden wave. The layer of skirt between them did little to protect her thighs and she shuddered at the unexpected sensation. “But I cannot stay in the water.”

His head canted, braid falling to press against one cheekbone. “Not as you are.”

Caroline froze, heart leaping into her throat. Klaus watched her from calculating eyes, and one hand left the water to brush across her lips. The caress was scalding, and her mouth burned with each tiny motion of his fingertips. His slow smile was satisfied, and the next flick of his tail had a fin brushed along the back of her calves. His free hand slid slowly down her spine, lingering just above the curve of her butt.

“Tell me, Caroline, how attached are you, to your human legs?”


End file.
